Hams
by Grasspaw
Summary: In which Muarim and Largo have a weight lifting competition, and Mist is an unfortunate victim.


**My first Fire Emblem fic, taking place in _Path of Radiance_! So, I'm ashamed to say I haven't actually played any of the games... But I've watched my brother play _Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn, _so I think it counts. I was reading some support conversations on the wikia, and on the one between Muarim and Largo, Muarim mentions that he picked Mist up during their contest, and this idea was born. I own nothing.**

"Hey, Mist!" Rolf called, and the girl looked up from her laundry.

"Yes, Rolf?"

The green-haired archer skidded to a halt in front of her, out of breath and laughing. "You have to see this! That green tiger laguz-"

"Muarim?"

"Yeah! He and Largo are having a wight lifting contest; they're carrying around these huge hams! You have to come watch!"

"Well, maybe in a minute," Mist said, smiling as she carefully pinned one of Boyd's shirts on the line. It was good to see Rolf back to his old laughing self; he had been so solemn lately. "Let me just-"

"Oh, come on!"

Mist laughed in surprise as Rolf grabbed her wrist and tugged her away. She just barely managed to toss one of her scarves back into the bin of water before running after him, still giggling. It felt good to be a child again - or at least act like one.

"Not so fast!" she said breathlessly. "Your legs are longer than mine!"

Rolf just turned to grin at her and did not slow down in the slightest, tugging insistently on her wrist. She laughed again and struggled to keep up with the taller boy. Finally, they reached the clearing near the cook tents and pushed their way to the front of the small crowd. Mist's eyes widened as she saw the two large men each shouldering several cured hams that had to be as big as she was.

"Wow," she said, clapping and cheering along with everyone else when the two men, each panting, hefted another ham up. Rolf shouted and applauded enthusiastically.

"Look at that! Six hams each! I can barely lift _one_!" he shouted to her over the noise. She grinned.

"I can't lift any!"

"Pfft, can't be that hard," Boyd said, coming up behind them and watching the competition with a thoughtful expression. "I could do that, easy!"

_"Wooh! Go Muarim, yeah!"_

Mist turned her head to see a familiar red-head mage jumping around and yelling like a mad thing. She giggled; Tormod was clearly rooting for his friend. Well, she barely knew Largo, but she had run into Muarim several times and found him to be friendly enough.

"Go Muarim!"

The tiger's head turned at the unfamiliar voice, and when their eyes locked, a strangely maniacal glint split his face. Mist gulped.

"Oh, deAAAARRR! EEK!" she squealed, as Muarim, not dropping one of the hams he was carrying, hefted her up onto his shoulder.

"Woah!" Boyd shouted. "What's he...?"

She didn't hear the rest as she squeaked and clung desperately to Muarim's ponytail, one foot braced against a ham and the other dangling helplessly. "Oh, Ashera! Put me down put me down put me down!"

Largo shouted something about cheating, and Muarim threw his head back in laughter, nearly dislodging the fourteen-year-old girl sitting on his shoulder. She scrambled desperately for a handhold as she tipped precariously, finally managing to wrap her arms around his forehead. She whipped her head around wildly, trying to catch the eye of Rolf or Boyd, but she couldn't see them from her position, just Tormod - the fire mage was holding his sides with laughter. She managed to scowl before Muarim bent over - to pick up another ham, probably - and she tumbled forward, shrieking. She landed on her stomach on Muarim's armful of meet. Her short cape flipped over her head and she kicked her feet in the air, trying to avoid falling on her face, as it occurred to feel vaguely grateful that she had opted for a pair of old pants that morning. This would be rather awkward if she was wearing her skirt...

Muarim was shouting and ducking, trying to avoid her flailing limbs; however, that only made her position more precarious, causing her to kick and scramble even more. The crowd dissolved, everyone trying to avoid the staggering Muarim, who was doing his best to keep the commander's sister from face planting in the dirt. She could hear Boyd and Rolf shouting in the background, and Tormod's almost raucous laughter. She caught a glimpse of Largo dropping the hams he was carrying and scrambling away, arms hanging limply at his side. Muarim, trying not to drop anything, tripped over one of the hams and stumbled. Mist yelped and began to fall forward; however, to her surprise, she felt a large hand grasp her wrist and jerk her backwards, so that she crashed against a large body instead of the ground. She blinked and craned her neck beck to look at Muarim, who was cradling her against his chest and looking down at her with a concerned expression.

"Are you all right, little one?"

"Hey, that's my name!" Tormod hollered between extremely manly giggles, while Rolf and Boyd hurried over. "Not, you know, that I'm little or anything..."

"Mist, are you okay?" Rolf asked, and his voice cracked in anxiety. Muarim gently set her own her feet, and she looked at the four of them dumbly for several seconds. The crowd was slowly returning, looking at the carnage: hams scattered about the clearing, Largo and Muarim panting for breath, and Mist, her cape still up over one ear and wearing an expression similar to a person having just been clubbed over the head.

"Hey," Tormod said, finally ceasing to laugh when she remained silent. "You're not hurt or anything, are you?"

"I wasn't thinking," Muarim said mournfully. "I should have grabbed another ham."

"Oh, no," Largo said, hurrying over. "It was my idea to have the contest, and now she's hurt!"

"It's not your fault," Rolf said quickly. "I'm sure you didn't mean anything by it."

"Yeah, just be careful next time," Boyd said, frowning fiercely. "We can't have Mist getting-"

"Hee hee!"

He raised his eyebrows at her. "Hurt..."

Mist was holding her sides and guffawing, tears streaming down her face as she laughed. She tried to take a few steps forward and tilted; she was dizzying from Muarim's mad rush around the clearing, and she sat down heavily on a nearby cured ham.

"That... was... amazing!" she said, giggling madly. Muarim blinked in apparent confusion before a slow smile spread across his face. "Can we do it again?"

"I am glad you enjoyed it," Muarim said, smiling, "but I don't think it would be particularly-"

"What _happened_?"

The six of them looked around guiltily as Ike and Soren appeared; the numerous people watching had mysteriously disappeared. Mist took one look at the blue-haired man's incredulous expression, and Soren's single raised eyebrow, and promptly fell over backwards, laughing too hard to sit up straight.


End file.
